Richard Titus Bensing

Richard “Dick” Bensing, born on October 21, 1943, passed away in his sleep at the age of 82 on June 22, 2026. Dick is survived by his many admiring friends, a few despised enemies (we all know what he called them), his stepson Sean McKay and three Bensings (a niece, Dawn, and nephews, Billy and Jeff).

Dick was born and spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area where he attended Episcopal Academy and the University of Pennsylvania (BA & MA). After college, he served as an Officer in the U.S. Army and deployed to Korea where he commanded a tank platoon along the Demilitarized Zone. After returning home, he became a builder who designed and constructed projects big and small from downtown Philadelphia to the “Main Line”, and beyond. Dick was a fixture of “Center City” in the 1970s – 80s renovating and residing in occasionally still under construction urban industrial lofts, where he was known for hosting boisterous gatherings marked by lots of deep conversation, hearty laughter and great music.

Dick was an avid and capable outdoorsman, hiker, climber, boatsman and scuba diver. One of his greatest joys in life was his service to the Boy Scouts. He had a lifelong involvement with Paoli Troop 1 in Wayne, PA where he became an Eagle Scout and Scoutmaster. The members of the troop deeply appreciated and respected Dick, while occasionally having to dodge his wrath. Dick’s extraordinary decades-long efforts, inspired generations of Scouts who grew up to become capable and honorable men.

In his own understated words, “In 84’ I became Scoutmaster of Paoli Troop 1. A troop I had joined as a boy. I spent 20 years in that job. We were a very active group, canoeing, kayaking, climbing, biking, etc. Every summer we would take a trip to someplace special. Canadian lake trips, white water rivers… Maine, Katahdin. The Long Trail in Vermont, a month in England, Scotland, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. We spent two weeks in Alaska where we flew to a glacier near Denali set up base camp and climbed and trekked for 8 days.”

Many others were fortunate to experience Dick’s generosity of spirit. He maintained lifelong deep relationships with his friends, including ex-girlfriends (and their future spouses), their children, his brother Bob and his niece and nephews. Of special significance was his relationship with stepson, Sean, who he was immensely proud of for his many achievements and particularly for his strength of character in overcoming adversity.

In the words of some of those who knew and loved him: “Really, such great company… He could put things in perspective. He was reassuring and made it so almost nothing was too big a deal.” – “He wasn't just cool, he was cool-cool. Dick was refined and eloquent without being at all fancy. He was always so in on the joke.” – “Dick was made of tough stuff; he could sleep almost anywhere.” - “With Dick, it was sometimes like he took a vow of poverty in service.” - “He was generous to a fault but did not suffer fools lightly.” - Dick held others to a high standard but himself to the highest.” - “I believe that man really lived, for the most part, exactly how he wanted to live.”

Let’s all take pause in our day, look out at the beauty of the natural world and think about Richard “Just call me Dick” Bensing as he hikes off into the hereafter to the immortal lyrics of Lynyrd Skynyrd:

“If I leave here tomorrow

Would you still remember me?

For I must be traveling on, now

'Cause there's too many places I've got to see”

Free Bird ‧ 1973

A tribute to Dick's extraordinary contribution to Paoli Troop 1, BSA can be found and contributions made in his memory through their website at www.paoli1.org